On the 9th November, we were thrilled to be invited by the Canons
Regular of the Lateran to celebrate their feastday at their Priory and
Parish in Eltham. Not only was it the feast of the Dedication of the
Lateran Basilica, but the Canons are also celebrating this year the
100th anniversary of the parish of Christ Chuch in Eltham. Fr Hugh, Br
Pius and Br Stephen were among the guests, which included many
representatives from the family of Canons Regular, including the Canons Regular of the Immaculate Conception (Milton Keynes), the
Canonesses Regular of St Augustine (Lewes), the Canonesses Regular of
the Holy Sepulchre (here in Chelmsford and in Colchester) and several
sisters of other congregations that also follow the Rule of Our Holy
Father Augustine. The Parish is lucky enough to have a beautiful
Austrian statue of St Augustine in the Church, a vivid reminder of the
links between all canonical religious who share a great devotion to
the Father of the canonical life himself.

Many thanks to the Prior of Christ Church, Fr Gary, the former Abbot
Primate Fr Anthony, Fr John (parish priest), and Fr Denis (assistant
priest) for their warm hospitality and kind invitation to celebrate
Mass with them and share their feastday luncheon.

Related

Our Holy Father Norbert

Norbertines of St Philip’s Priory, Chelmsford

"Live together in harmony, and be of one mind and one heart on the way to God" (Rule 1.2)

The Canons Regular of Prémontré were founded by St. Norbert at Prémontré, France on Christmas Day, 1120.

By God's grace, we live the canonical life based upon the ancient Rule of St Augustine (written around 400). At the heart of our way of life is a devotion to prayer and contemplation, which nourishes our various apostolic works in the world. There are five pillars to our Norbertine way of life that our holy father Norbert bequeathed to us:

- The praise of Almighty God in the sacred liturgy
- A zeal for souls
- A life of penance
- Devotion to the Blessed Sacrament
- Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary, especially her Immaculate Conception

The Order arrived in England in 1138, until the suppression of the monasteries in the Reformation. By then, there were 38 houses (both male and female) in the British Isles. Expelled from these islands for over three centuries, we returned in 1872 and founded several missions.

Our own canonry became independent in 2004, and we established our home in Chelmsford in 2006.